Court Rules AFSCME Members Not Owed Back Pay Without Appropriation

The Illinois Supreme Court has declared that former Gov. Pat Quinn was correct in 2011 when he denied state workers a promised 2 percent pay raise because lawmakers had not appropriated the money.

The court determined on a 6-1 vote that the state's contract with 30,000members of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employeesdoesn't trump state law requiring the General Assembly to authorize spending.

Quinn withheld money owed under the AFSCME contract in July 2011 because thebudget lawmakers sent him did not have an appropriation to cover the pay raiseunion members were due.

Overall, $112 million was owed. AFSCME says about $60 million still hasn't beenpaid to 24,000 workers. Some workers got paid after subsequent negotiations andlegislative action.